October Reading List

The Sense of Connection is the most recent report from The Relationships Project, exploring what we can learn from interconnecting processes of disaster recovery, conflict transformation, and community development. It is a powerful reminder that the Covid-19 crisis is not behind us – we are still living through it, with a pattern of “shuffle and repeat” marking moments of optimism and anxiety. In order to create stronger, sustainable communities, where our lives are anchored with stability and security, we need to think relationally about the three processes listed above. We know that youth work is all about relationships, and most often centred on communities. This report gives much food for thought in terms of how we support young people through the cycles of “shuffle and repeat” in ways that help them to connect with their communities, for long-term gain. – Jo, Project Manager 
 

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In this article on the Common Cause Foundation blog, Ruth Taylor explores why we should build power for new narratives in place of relying on old ones that can draw attention away from systemic solutions. Using climate change as an example, Ruth sets out how traditional approaches – such as nudge theory – and a dominant narrative of individualism ‘bypasses the need to invest in the process of revising the systems in which individuals live’ and ‘undermines the prospects for policy responses to a range of injustices’. Ruth demonstrates how this then influences public perceptions of individual and collective power and influence, alongside the risks of unexamined, untested dominant narratives ('keep[ing] the powerful in power, always at the expense of marginalised communities and our living planet.’) These points speak particularly to campaigning organisations, but I think there are a number of helpful prompts for us to consider when reflecting on the narratives that we use to talk about young people and communities in the design and evaluation of work across the sector. – Catherine, Organisational Learning Lead 
 

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This blog by the What Works Centre for Wellbeing discusses learning from their evidence review on collective wellbeing, as measured through social capital to understand what type of interventions improve three key social capital outcomes: neighbourhood belonging, social support, and community cohesion. The aim was to build the evidence base on community wellbeing and social capital and promote existing measures to ensure wellbeing evidence is consistent and robust. The author notes  OECD research shows that higher levels of social capital are beneficial and can be associated with better outcomes in health, education and civic engagement. This is now an integrated standard used by the Government Statistical Services that offers an opportunity to track place-based goals and improvements across local, regional, and national levels. These three outcomes were chosen as they looked at types of bonding capital, in this case, neighbourhood belonging and social support in conjunction with ‘bridge capital’, which is ‘between social groups, social class, race, religion etc.’ such as community cohesion. The report found strong evidence on the wellbeing impact of youth skills and physical activity interventions, pointing to National Citizen Service’s positive impact on community cohesion and social support amongst 16–17-year-olds. – Zunaira, Research and Projects Assistant 
 

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In its recently published Missing Experts report, Reclaim, a member of the EDP Youth strand, focuses on an aspect of equity that is still not often discussed: working-class inclusion. The report focuses on a central question: ‘do charities and think tanks have a class diversity problem?’ The research includes the voices of 30 people from working-class backgrounds currently working in think tanks and anti-poverty charities, and surveyed 277 people with a working-class background who have worked in the sector. The report includes impactful narratives and striking numbers: 94% of respondents said that class diversity was a problem in think tanks and anti-poverty charities. This research feels urgent and relevant to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) conversations taking place across the sector - especially considering participants interviewed reported having difficult experiences at work, struggled to fit into a ‘middle-class’ environment, or felt the need to hide their background. – Soizic, Enterprise Development Manager 
 

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The acceptance of an outcome-based framework has and continues to remain a contested area amongst academics and practitioners alike in the field of youth work provision. At the same time, we see a similar range of attitudes to outcomes in other fields, including mental health practice as highlighted in this Thomas Insel’s interview with Anne McElvoy.  

Insel’s main concern is that in a field that has made so many advances in the treatment of mental health, we aren’t seeing the same level of improvement in outcomes. Insel’s conclusion is that we know what to do but we aren’t always doing it; and when we do get it right, we aren’t measuring and recording outcomes. One might argue that youth work and mental health care are not comparable fields when it comes to the importance of outcome-based, systemic approaches. However, given the ever-increasing burden on youth provision to support young people with mental health issues, it is important to consider whether a failure to engage with outcomes will continue to hurt the overall impact of mental health practice. The solution, according to Insel, is to challenge practitioners, and services to embrace the interrelationship between intervention and outcomes, to identify and embrace a quality practice that transcends disciplines, whilst working systemically across academic and professional fields with a focus on measurement and outcomes. – Simon, Head of Education
 

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I was delighted to see a new open access Journal for Youth-Led Research launched in spring this year. In the first issue Harry asks why young people do not have a more prominent seat at decision-making tables. Harry outlines three types of involvement: consultation, collaboration, and youth action. Harry states that consultation is a common practice and may enable adults to meet their minimum obligation under Article 12 of the UN Convention in the Rights of the Child, however it does not give young people decision-making power. Collaboration and youth action are found less frequently. Harry contends this is why young people do not have more seats at decision making tables – it is inconvenient and not fully mandated. He recommends more opportunities for young people to work in collaboration with those in power, or, where that fails, to take part in direct action: “Action to demand your voice is heard; action to denounce tokenism and other types of false participation; action to demand respect for rights; action to put the media spotlight on injustice or discrimination; action to challenge abuse of power; and action to hold those in power accountable”. Youth Participatory Evaluation, Youth-Led Research and Youth Participatory Action Research are all ways to enable young people to take direct action through knowledge creation, and I look forward to reading young people’s research in future editions of this journal. - Kaz, Director of Strategy and Learning 
 

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We’re in the business of understanding the socio-emotional skills of young people and how they impact on their ability to thrive. It was interesting to read a recent piece in The Guardian, which suggests the pandemic may have altered people’s personalities, particularly in young adults - especially, in the same week the public Inquiry into the readiness of the UK to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic begins. This American study also examines differential personality change as a result of COVID-19, and highlights that ‘younger adults showed disrupted maturity in that they increased in neuroticism and declined in agreeableness and conscientiousness’. We’re heading into the winter period with health specialists indicating the rates of flu and covid will likely increase. It requires us to work collaboratively – across the youth sector - to help young people cope now, while also adapting to world in which viruses will form part of our future and create the right infrastructure that supports young people to flourish. – Anna, Head of Engagement 
 

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This new podcast series ‘Talking Racism and Mental Health in Schools’ from the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families explores racism in formal settings, and how experiencing racism can affect young people’s mental health and self-esteem. Alongside guest speakers including the Honourable Stuart Lawrence, and Eve Doran, researcher at Black Learning Achievement and Mental Health (BLAM), the podcast highlights racism and efforts to tackle it as a ‘school’s responsibility’ and the benefits of embedding an anti-racist approach within its structure. Each episode discusses a different concept or approach to further anti-racism in schools; involving the whole school community in anti-racism initiatives, the impact of racism on self-esteem, the importance of representation in staffing and the curriculum, and inclusion of Black British culture and language in schools. – Hannah, Communications Manager 
 

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I enjoyed this blog by Thomas Aston on the difference between outputs and outcomes. Aston wrestles with the overlap between the two terms, highlighting the role of ‘hierarchies of impact’ - the often-unspoken levels of importance ascribed to the changes we hope will result from our work. Also unspoken is who gets to define this hierarchy. Aston goes on to challenge the passive framing of outputs. An output tends to undermine or even remove the agency of the individual experiencing it, and overstate the reach and control of the practitioner. This risks failing to take account of the powerful contextual factors that shape and influence how people and communities experience and respond to ‘outputs’, and avoids reflection on the powerful behavioural mediators that affect change. - Bethia, CEO